Top 10 South Indian Thrillers Streaming Now

Who doesn’t like a smartly made thriller that can outwit the audience and still impress them. South films from Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, have constantly churned out some notable thrillers, some of them from the action, crime and mystery genres. Here are some 10 notable south Indian crime thriller films that you can stream right now.

Top 10 South Indian Thrillers Streaming Now; from Marco to Max

Rekhachithram – SonyLIV

Rekhachithram is a mystery crime thriller which opens with a confession left by a man who dies by suicide, leading the police to probe into the disappearance of a junior artiste on the sets of old Malayalam film Kathodu Kathoram. Directed by Jofin T Chacko from a script by John Manthrikal, the film stars Asif Ali, Anaswara Rajan with Manoj K Jayan, Siddique, Jagadish, Saikumar, Harisree Ashokan and Indrans.

Por Thozhil – SonyLIV 

Directed by debutant Vignesh Raja, Por Thozhil is a Tamil crime thriller featuring Sarathkumar and Ashok Selvan in the lead roles. The film revolves around a rookie cop who is paired with a strict senior cop to investigate a series of murders done in a similar fashion, and nab the serial killer. With Nikhila Vemal, Sarath Babu, Nizhalgal Ravi, Sunil Sukhada and Santhosh Keezhattoor, the film smartly plays with its screenplay that is both interesting and unexpected.

Prasanna Vadanam- Aha 

Prasanna Vadanam is a 2024 Telugu crime thriller helmed by Arjun YK. Featuring Suhas in the lead role, it is about a man who is diagnosed with face blindness as he soon becomes a crucial witness in a murder case. Actors Payal Radhakrishna, Rashi Singh, Nandu, Harsha Chemudu, Nithin Prasanna and others are part of the cast.

Marco – SonyLIV

Marco is a Malayalam action thriller headlined by actor Unni Mukundan is a film by director Haneef Adeni. The brutally violent film revolves around the aftermath of the death of a man which fuels his brother to go on a revenge spree. A commercial success at the box office and censored A for its violence, Marco also stars Siddique, Kabir Duhan Singh, Jagadish, and others. While a sequel for the film was expected, the lead actor of Marco, Unni Mukundan said that the project is shelved due to negativity.

Max – ZEE5

Max is a Kannada action thriller in which Kichcha Sudeepa plays the titular role. With Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Sunil, Samyukta Hornad, Sukrutha Wagle and Anirudh Bhat playing prominent parts, Max revolves around the protagonist who is on a suspension. But when he joins back on duty, an unexpected turn waits for him. The film is directed by debutant Vijay Karthikeyaa.

Kaithi – JioHotstar

Kaithi is a Tamil film featuring Karthi in the lead role, and first instalment in filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj’s planned LCU universe, followed by Vikram and Leo. The film takes place over a night, and is about a convict who is on a parole to meet his daughter. But he gets pulled into a drug bust raid by a police officer, which becomes a night of survival and battleground against evil forces. Featuring Arjun Das, Narain, George Maryan, Harish Uthaman and others, Kaithi 2 is the most expected sequel in Tamil cinema.

HIT: The First Case – Netflix

HIT: The First Case is a crime thriller film directed by Sailesh Kolanu and serves as the first instalment in the HIT universe. The first part stars Vishwak Sen in the lead role and is about a cop from Telangana's fictional department Homicide Intervention Team, who is probing the death of an 18-year-old girl. The film is produced by Nani, who eventually starred in the lead role in HIT 3.

Ghost – ZEE5

Ghost is a Kannada action heist thriller that features a cast including Shiva Rajkumar, Jayaram, Anupam Kher, Prashant Narayanan, Satya Prakash, and Archana Jois. It serves as the second part in the cinematic universe following Birbal Trilogy Case 1: Finding Vajramuni, Ghost is about an anonymous gangster. Called the Big Daddy, the film is about how he plans to loot the gold bars which were confiscated during a CBI raid. MG Srinivas has directed the film.

Maharaja – Netflix

Maharaja is a Tamil action thriller directed by Nithilan Saminathan. Vijay Sethupathi plays the lead role in the film. It revolves around a barber who files a complaint that a trash can at his house has gone missing. However, the confused police find it odd as they begin to investigate only to unravel a bigger chain of events for a planned revenge. Actors Natty, Mamta Mohandas, Anurag Kashyap, Abhirami, Singampuli and others are part of the cast.

Kishkindha Kaandam - JioHotstar

Kishkindha Kaandam is a 2024 mystery thriller film and features Asif Ali, Aparna Balamurali, Vijayaraghavan, Jagadish and others. Set withing a forest reserve where the monkey population is abundant, the film revolves around a former military officer who is facing memory loss issues, and his son who has remarried but is still grieving and searching for his lost son from first wife who went missing. With a mix of crime drama and atmospheric thriller, in a slow-burn format, Kishkindha Kaandam is directed by Dinjith Ayyathan and written by Bahul Ramesh.